The Essence of the New Testament: A Survey

By Elmer L. Towns (Editor) and Ben Gutierrez (Editor)

The Essence of the New Testament, Second Edition surveys the books of the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. Drawing on decades of scholarly research and classroom teaching, the authors provide a practical, readable, and insightful introduction to the second major division of the Christian biblical canon.
This new edition contains new information about the emergence of an early Christian canon, the significance of Second Temple Judaism for New Testament study, an overview of tools for New Testament research, an introduction to Jesus studies, and a synopsis of the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament. 

Other beneficial features for students and instructors include:
·         More than 150 full-color photographs, maps, illustrations, and charts
·         Introductions to each New Testament book, including background, outline, message, and theological significance
·         Introductory chapters on how we got the New Testament, principles of interpretation, the intertestamental period, and the Synoptic problem
·         Sidebars focusing on significant topics and Greek word studies for English readers
·         Study questions and recommended further reading

Editors Elmer L. Towns and Ben Gutierrez draw from their years of teaching experience to provide a time-tested New Testament overview written at the college level, yet also appropriate for pastors, scholars, and laypeople. They combine the finest evangelical scholarship with a passion to open windows of spiritual and practical insight into the biblical text.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BH Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781433644917

Book preview

Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Contributors

Preface

How We Got the New Testament

Interpreting the New Testament

The History Between the Testaments

The Essence of the Synoptic Problem and Jesus Studies

Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven

Mark: The Divine Servant

Luke: The Son of Man

John: Believe and Live

Acts: Taking the Message to the World

Romans: Righteousness by Faith

1 Corinthians: The Supremacy of Love

2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness

Galatians: By Grace through Faith

Ephesians: Wealth, Walk, and Warfare

Philippians: The Mind of Christ

Colossians: Preeminence of Christ

1 Thessalonians: The Return of Christ

2 Thessalonians: The Day of the Lord

1 Timothy: Pastoral Principles

2 Timothy: Final Words

Titus: Good Works

Philemon: Social Dynamics of the Gospel

Hebrews: Jesus Our Great High Priest

James: Faith That Works

1 Peter: Holy Living

2 Peter: Growing in Grace

1 John: Blessed Assurance

2 John: Avoid False Teachers

3 John: Accept True Teachers

Jude: Final Warnings

Revelation: The King Is Coming

Epilogue: The Promise Fulfilled

Name Index

Subject Index

Scripture Index

Image Credits

Guide

Abbreviations

Table of Contents

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titlepage

Essence of the New Testament: A Survey

Copyright © 2012, 2016 by Elmer L. Towns and Ben Gutierrez

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4336-4490-0

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 225.076

Subject Heading: BIBLE. O.T—STUDY \ BIBLE. N.T.—HISTORY OF BIBLICAL EVENTS

Unless noted otherwise, Scripture quotations are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture citations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible. ©The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Image credits are on pages 367–68. At time of publication, all efforts had been made to determine proper credit. Please contact B&H if any are inaccurate.

Printed in the United States of America

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 • 20 19 18 17 16

BP

Dedicated to

Andreas J. Köstenberger

for his influence in the lives of several contributing authors of this work.

Maps

The Empire of Alexander

The Ministry of Jesus Around the Sea of Galilee

The Ministry of Jesus Beyond Galilee

Second Procuratorship and the Kingdom of Agrippa II

Jerusalem in the New Testament Period

Expansion of the Early Church in Palestine

The First Missionary Journey of Paul

The Second Missionary Journey of Paul

The Third Missionary Journey of Paul

Paul’s Voyage to Rome

Galatia

Crete

Seven Churches of the Revelation

Abbreviations

AB Anchor Bible

BECNT Baker Evangelical Commentary on the New Testament

BKC Bible Knowledge Commentary

BKCNT Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament

EBC The Expositor’s Bible Commentary

HNTC Holman New Testament Commentary

ICC International Critical Commentary

ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

IVP InterVarsity Press

NAC New American Commentary

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary

NIVAC New International Application Commentary

NT New Testament

NTC New Testament Commentary (Baker Academic)

PNTC Pelican New Testament Commentaries

TNTC Tyndale New Testament Commentary

VT Vetus Testamentum

WBC Word Biblical Commentary

WEC Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary

ZECNT Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

ZIBBC Zondervan Illustrated Background Commentary

Contributors

GENERAL EDITORS AND AUTHORS

Elmer Towns (D.Min., Fuller Theological Seminary) is cofounder of Liberty University, Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, and Dean of the School of Religion at Liberty University and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than 170 books, has contributed articles to more than 10 encyclopedias, and has published widely both popular and scholarly articles. Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and James.

Ben Gutierrez (Ph.D., Regent University) is Professor of Religion and Administrative Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Liberty University. He is the coauthor of Learn How to Read New Testament Greek Workbook and Ministry Is: How to Serve Jesus with Passion and Confidence (B&H Academic). Philippians.

CONTRIBUTORS

James A. Borland (Th.D., Grace Theological Seminary) is Professor of New Testament and Theology at Liberty University. He is a past president and secretary treasurer of the Evangelical Theological Society. Mark, Luke, Galatians, and Philemon.

Wayne A. Brindle (Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is Professor of Biblical Studies and Greek at Liberty University. He served as Associate Editor for The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary and The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy (Harvest House). Romans, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Titus, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude.

Edward E. Hindson (D.Litt. et Phil., University of South Africa); FIBA (Cambridge University) is Distinguished Professor of Religion and Biblical Studies at Liberty University in Virginia. He is a gold medallion author of more than 40 books, including five study Bibles and numerous commentaries. Revelation and editorial assistance.

Gaylen P. Leverett (Ph.D., The Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Professor of Theology and Faculty Chaplain at Liberty University. The History Between the Testaments, The Essence of the Synoptic Problem, and Matthew.

Donald R. Love III (Ph.D. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Liberty University. John, Hebrews, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.

R. N. Small (Ph.D., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Director of Biblical Studies and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Liberty University. He has contributed to the editing of the second edition of this work.

Michael J. Smith (Ph.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Liberty University. He has contributed scholarly articles to academic journals. Acts, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians.

Preface

You are about to study the most influential book ever written, the New Testament. Of course that claim includes the Old Testament because it is the foundation upon which the New Testament rests. These two books comprise the Bible, God’s message to the world.

The New Testament’s influence is illustrated by the many people throughout history who have read its message of salvation from sin and freedom in Christ Jesus, have believed the promises of God, and have had their lives changed.

It is also illustrated by nations and empires that have been founded upon and influenced by the Bible. Their laws have been based on Judeo-Christian values, and their citizens have attempted to live by the Protestant/Puritan ethic. Following the principles of God’s Word has made them a great nation.

The Old Testament tells of God’s creation of the universe, including planet Earth. It tells how God created the first man in his image and gave him life, liberty, and fellowship with himself. It shows that man’s task was to worship God, obey him, and serve him in a beautiful environment. It also speaks of the origin of sin that has had a devastating impact on the entire human race. Then the Bible tells the story of God’s plan of salvation, how people must please God by their lives and worship him.

God chose one man, Abraham, and one group of people, the Jews, to fulfill his plan of redemption for all. God gave them principles for living, the Ten Commandments, and the land we know as Palestine. God gave them kings and rulers, and prophets as his messengers, to guide them to worship him, to gain victory over their enemies, and to embrace his plan on how to glorify him in their lives.

The Jews, the nation called Israel, failed to obey God and follow Him. In 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, their capital, and burned the temple, then took the rest of the population into captivity in Babylon—all as a sign of God’s judgment for their sin. Seventy years later some of the Jews returned to the Promised Land, and in succeeding years a few other Jews returned.

Prophets delivered God’s message to the Jews scattered among the nations and those in the Promised Land. The last prophet who delivered a message from God to his people was Malachi whose ministry concludes the Old Testament. Then followed approximately 400 years of silence, called silent because God was not speaking through prophets.

The New Testament begins with four biographies of God’s Son, called Gospels, each emphasizing a different aspect of Jesus’s life. A virgin gave birth and called her Son Jesus, as an angel had directed her. Jesus was reared in Nazareth of Galilee and increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people (Luke 2:52). At about the age of 30 he began preaching the message of God’s kingdom and performing miracles to show that he was the Messiah. The people heard him gladly, but the Jewish religious and political leaders rejected him and plotted to kill him. He was crucified by Roman soldiers but died as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world (John 1:29). Three days later he arose from the dead and spent 40 days preparing his disciples for a worldwide ministry, preaching the message of his death and resurrection as the basis of salvation for as many as would believe.

The book of Acts (the second section of the New Testament) tells the story of the beginning and growth of groups of believers called the church. The church was victorious wherever it went because many gladly began following Jesus, but at the same time there was persecution from the Jewish establishment and later from the Roman authorities. The power of the church came from their prayers to God when they asked him to use their preaching to change lives. The Holy Spirit worked in hearts to spread the message, and the church carried out the commission given them by Jesus: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The book of Acts gives the history of the early church from Pentecost to Paul’s imprisonment in Rome (approximately AD 62).

Simon Peter, the leader of the Twelve, preached on Pentecost when the New Testament church was introduced to the world. He also preached the gospel to Cornelius, a Roman army officer, marking the introduction of the gospel to Gentiles.

Paul, the other leader in spreading the gospel, was a Jew born in Tarsus (Turkey) who originally had a high position among the Jewish establishment in Jerusalem. After his conversion Paul carried the gospel to modern-day Turkey, Greece, and several islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and ultimately to Rome, Italy.

New churches were planted wherever the message was preached, and they grew in size and influence. Because of the diverse backgrounds of new believers, and the influence of sin in their lives, problems arose in those churches.

Paul had to (re)visit these churches to clear up doctrinal or lifestyle problems; but he also began writing letters to address a variety of important issues. These letters became the basis to teaching doctrinal beliefs and church practices. The letters of Paul make up the third section of the New Testament

The fourth section of the New Testament is called General Letters or Epistles. These include a letter to the Hebrews in Jerusalem, a letter from James the half brother of Jesus, and letters from the apostles Peter, John, and Jude. These were written to solve specific problems among churches and/or believers.

The last or fifth section of the New Testament is the book of Revelation, written by John the apostle when Jesus appeared to him and said, Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this (Rev 1:19). John sums up God’s message in the Scriptures by describing the state of Christianity that was symbolically represented in seven churches in and around Ephesus in western Turkey. He then describes the events of the last days, including the coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time. He concludes with a brief description of heaven and life in eternity.

Also included in this survey of the New Testament are four important preliminary chapters that provide a background for your study. The first chapter explains How We Got the New Testament. Chapter 2 is Interpreting the New Testament. You will need this orientation to help you clearly understand the message of each of the twenty-seven books that appear in sequence. Chapter 3, The History Between the Testaments, gives an in-depth account of the historical events leading up to the birth of Jesus. Finally, chapter 4, The Essence of the Synoptic Problem, examines the issues surrounding the similarities and differences among what we call the Synoptic Gospels—Mathew, Mark, and Luke.

This New Testament survey is the result of a team of writers who have taught this course at Liberty University and other educational institutions. This book represents the overflow of our academic studies, our experiences with students like you, and our passion to know God and his Word. We want you to study the New Testament so you will learn about God and in that experience find God’s will for your life. Our prayer is that you enjoy studying the New Testament and that, in your research, you reach out to touch God. But more importantly, we pray that, in return, God may touch you.

Elmer L. Towns Ben Gutierrez

General Editor General Editor

Chapter 1

How We Got the New Testament

The history of how the New Testament was written, copied, and translated is an important topic that impacts the foundation of the faith of Christianity. This chapter answers the following questions: How did we get the New Testament? Who decided which books would be included? Why were some ancient texts not included? Why are there so many translations?

The Writing of the New Testament

page1

Oldest complete Coptic Psalter.

The New Testament consists of 27 books that were written between about AD 45 to approximately AD 95. Some authors penned their books themselves, while others typically dictated the contents of a letter or narrative to an assistant or a scribe. This assistant would write down what was spoken, and the author would then check the document for accuracy. Apparently, Paul handwrote some of his first letters (Gal 6:11) and dictated his later ones, adding his handwritten salutation to authenticate them (Col 4:18; 2 Thess 3:17; see also 1 Pet 4:12). The books of the New Testament were written on leather scrolls and papyrus sheets. ¹ These books were circulated independently at first, not as a collection. Perhaps itinerant preachers such as the apostle Matthew stayed in the home of a rich believer who had a library and a slave to serve as his personal scribe. Matthew may have allowed a scribe to copy his Gospel. Hence, the Gospel of Matthew was circulated widely as he traveled from church to church. Paul instructed that some of his letters be circulated (Col 4:16). We do not know if the actual letter (called an autograph) was circulated to various churches or if copies were made by scribes to be circulated. In any case copies were eventually gathered into collections. Apparently, there were collections of Paul’s letters (cf. 1 Pet 3:16). They were copied into codices, which are similar to modern-day books, with the pages sewn together to form a binding. In this form the documents were easier to read. Leather or scrolls were harder to use because the entire book had to be unrolled to find a passage. Also, papyrus sheets cracked if rolled into a scroll; hence, the flat papyrus pages were sewn into a book. In Latin the codex collection was called Ta Bibla, the words we use to designate our Bible. But the codex form forced decisions to be made, none more important than this: Which books would be included?

THE CANON

Setting the Table for the New Testament

page2

Greek Papyrus.

Several factors need to be considered when addressing the formation of the canon. Canon refers to a permanent list of authoritative books recognized as Scripture. ² The formation of the Old Testament canon, which will not be discussed here in any detail, gave the church the idea of forming the New Testament. Some scholars place the gathering of the 39 books of the Old Testament to Ezra. Remember, the first five books of the Old Testament had been gathered as the Pentateuch. Other scholars say the Old Testament was gathered into a canon when the Septuagint was translated from Hebrew into Greek. Therefore, the concept of a canon would have been familiar to the writers of the New Testament and Jewish Christians in general.

God inbreathed the writings of Scripture so that the writers wrote the Word of God without error. God chose three languages for his self-revelation. First, the Old Testament is written in Hebrew. Some parts of Daniel and Ezra were written in another Semitic language, Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek.

The Greek of the New Testament was different from the classical Greek of the philosophers. However, the archaeological excavations have uncovered thousands of parchments of common language Greek, verifying that God chose the language of common people (Koine Greek) in which to communicate his revelation. Koine Greek was common Greek for the common people. It became a universal trade language, and enabled the New Testament to be accessible to much of the ancient world quickly and effectively.

We do not have the original manuscripts or autographs of any book of the Bible. These were lost, mostly during the persecution of the early church. Roman emperors felt that if they could destroy the church’s literature, they could eliminate Christianity. Others were lost due to wear and tear. The fact that some early churches did not keep these autographs but made copies and used them demonstrates that they were more concerned with the message than the vehicle of the message. God in his wisdom allowed the autographs to vanish. Like the relics from the Holy Land, they would have been venerated and worshipped. Surely bibliolatry (worship of the Bible) would have replaced the worship of God.

While some may have difficulty with the idea of not having the original manuscripts, scholars who work with the nonbiblical documents of antiquity usually likewise do not have access to those originals. When considering the manuscript evidence, it should be remembered that there are close to 6,000 Greek manuscripts and an additional 13,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament. This does not include 8,000 copies of the Latin Vulgate and more than 1,000 copies of other early versions of the Bible. These figures take on even more significance when compared to the similar statistics of other early writings. ³

Motivators for a Canon

Some writers have supposed that Christians did not discuss a canon for New Testament books until several centuries after the life of Jesus. However, because of the presence of the heretic Marcion (died c. 160), this is unlikely. Marcion was a church bishop who had a negative view of the God presented in the Old Testament. He rejected the Old Testament and had a severely shortened New Testament canon, consisting of only the Gospel of Luke and ten of Paul’s letters. However, even these were edited to remove as much Jewish influence as possible. The church excommunicated Marcion and swiftly rejected his teachings and canon.

Another heretical movement, Gnosticism, developed in the second century. In general this group believed that salvation was found in attaining special knowledge. The Gnostics had their own set of writings defending their beliefs and practices. Included in their writings are false Gospels (for example, the Gospel of Thomas). The Gnostics and Marcion raised the question as to which books were genuine and authoritative for Christians. ⁴ Metzger concludes, All in all, the role played by Gnostics in the development of the canon was chiefly that of provoking a reaction among members of the Great Church so as to ascertain still more clearly which books and epistles conveyed the true teaching of the Gospels. ⁵

Early Canon Formation

It should not be assumed that only through the pressure of outside groups that the Christian canon emerges. The early Christians were Jewish believers. They already had the concept of a canon due to their use of the Old Testament. A primary vehicle through which God, in the Old Testament, developed agreements among his people was through a covenant. A covenant agreement was a written document stating the stipulations between God and his people. Jewish people were familiar with describing the implications of God’s activity through the use of a written document. The development of authoritative writings among the early Christian apostles was a reasonable outcome of this concept. The early Christians did not leave this writing to whomever decided to write, but set up an authority structure to make sure that things were transmitted properly from one generation to the next.

There are several other clues that show that there was a canonical consciousness (awareness of the New Testament books) among the earliest Christians. First, is the use of the nomina sacra (sacred names). If you were to hold in your hands a manuscript of the Greek New Testament you would make an interesting discovery. The reader would notice several contracted terms that would have to be decoded by the reader. These contracted terms have been labelled the nomina sacra. There are around fifteen words that are contracted. Among them are the words Jesus, Lord, spirit, cross, Israel and heaven. The nomina sacra are important to the issue of canon because it gives a strong clue that an early writing community was working together. ⁶ The plausibility that such a notational system could be developed by individual authors working in isolation is very low.

Second, there is the clue of the titles of the Gospels. The theory that many Gospels were written and circulated by various authors and only at a late date did the four Gospels that are contained in the New Testament appear, struggles to take into account the uniformity of the Gospel titles. All four Gospel titles state the Gospel (singular) of either Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Matthew, Mark and Luke do not state who wrote the Gospel within the document itself. So to affirm the late addition of Gospel titles assumes that the Gospels circulated throughout the ancient world without anyone knowing who wrote them. Further, it is to assume that having circulated for years, an unidentified a group of people unknown to us decided to choose these four Gospels and place on them uniform titles is improbable, without leaving behind traces of earlier titles. This uniformity of titles seems to point to the early acceptance of the four Gospels and their external validation by an early Christian community. As stated earlier, the early Christians set aside the use of the scroll and replaced it with the codex. To break from the use of the scroll to the codex (a document similar to our modern day book) seems to primarily be due to the fact that in one document all four Gospels could be read together. ⁷

Third, there is a canonical-consciousness already apparent in the New Testament documents themselves (2 Pet 3:16). The epistle of 2 Peter appears to reference a collection of Paul’s letters and establish a connection between Paul’s writing and the authoritative documents of the Old Testament. The clear reading of this text shows that Peter understood Paul’s writing on the same level as authoritative Scripture. Paul’s letters also appear to be held in a collection similar to what emerges among the Gospels. The main reason that this argument is dismissed is because the authorship of 2 Peter is questioned. Some liberal scholars deny Peter’s authorship of 2 Peter because they want to deny his citation of Paul’s letters in 2 Peter 3:16 as Scripture (a very circular argument). However, even if one accepted that Peter did not write 2 Peter this still puts a canonical consciousness very early in the Christian movement. It seems plausible to suggest that Peter wrote 2 Peter (which is affirmed by early church tradition) and was aware of Paul’s writings which were held on the same level as authoritative Scripture.

Fourth, a final clue is the Muratorian fragment. The Muratorian fragment is a Latin document that contains a list of New Testament books recognized as authoritative. In addition to merely naming the books it gives descriptions of some of the books. The contents contain some information about authorship and descriptions of some of the books. While scholarship is divided over this issue, it is possible that the Muratorian fragment is from the second century. ⁸ This would push the development of a canonical list very early in the Christian movement. While none of these arguments alone make a decisive claim for an early canon, the evidence pointing toward an early canonical consciousness appears to be substantial. The idea that the canon only developed due to the fact that other groups challenged the canon seems to be wrong. It is equally likely that the heretical groups that challenged the canonical writing were reacting to the early canonical consciousness of the early Christian movement. In the year 367 AD, the canon of the New Testament was officially recognized by the church. The influence of Athanasius appears to be in a long line of thinkers that were aware of what books made up in the canon. He is the one who has been credited for officially setting down the markers of the New Testament canon.

The Main Criteria for Canonicity

The process in which the canon was formed is rather complicated. However, some offer the following six tests for a book to be considered part of the canon: (1) apostolicity, (2) antiquity, (3) orthodoxy, (4) catholicity, (5) traditional use, and (6) inspiration. ⁹

The test of apostolicity means that a book must be written by an apostle or one connected to an apostle. When applied to the New Testament, most books automatically meet this requirement (those written by Matthew, John, Paul, and Peter). Mark and Luke were both associates of Paul. James was a half brother of Jesus, and Jude is either an apostle or the half brother of Jesus. The only book that has much difficulty with this criterion is Hebrews. Many in the early church believed that Paul wrote Hebrews, but many New Testament scholars today suggest it was written by Luke. If we do not know who wrote the book, how can we connect it to the canon? Hebrews 13:23a says, Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. Whoever the author of Hebrews was, this reference places him within the Pauline circle. ¹⁰

Antiquity refers to the age of the writing. Not all canonical books were written by an apostle. Some were written by someone who was closely associated with an apostle. There are books in early Christianity that were doctrinally sound and meaningful to the church. These would be similar to how certain contemporary Christian books are meaningful to Christians today. Yet, Christians would not consider these on the same level with Scripture due to their time of writing. In a similar way, if a book appears too late, outside the apostolic period, then the book would be considered non-canonical.

The rule of faith refers to the conformity between the book and orthodoxy. "Orthodoxy refers to right doctrine." Therefore, the document had to be consistent with Christian truth as the standard that was recognized throughout Christian churches (e.g., in Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, etc.). If a document supported heretical teachings, it was rejected.

Catholicity (or widespread acceptance) refers to the support a particular book had among churches in the early Christian communities. Some early Christian writings only had local recognition. However, many of the New Testament documents had been virtually received universally by the earliest churches. There were some books like Hebrews that was received by most early Christian communities, but not all.

Traditional use refers to the widespread and continuous use of a document by the churches. ¹¹ As the Christian movement developed out of those formative years some documents emerged as the ones to be read and studied as a part of church life. It was not only the acceptance of certain books by certain Christian communities but also the use of those books in Christian worship that compelled them to be recognized as canonical.

Inspiration is the claim by the biblical author that the message of the book was given by God. While the vocabulary and style was that of the author, the message of the book was from God. Further, in the early stages of the church history, the recipients of these books affirmed in them God’s inspiration. The allegorical method was employed by some of the early Christian thinkers because they believed that more than the mere words of an apostle were contained in these documents. They believed they were the Word of God.

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Fragment of an Exodus passage from the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Applying these criteria to the books contained within the New Testament, and to those that were left out, shows the consistency of the canon as it was handed down. Some Gospels have been found in recent years and have raised quite a stir, such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Judas. Why are not these Gospels not considered authoritative for Christians? First, these Gospels cannot be definitively linked to apostles, even though apostles are named in the titles. ¹² Second, some heretical teachings in each document contradict the teachings of Scripture. ¹³ Third, none of these documents was used universally or continuously by the church. ¹⁴ Therefore, they each fail on these earliest criteria. ¹⁵

The Logical Argument

The a priori argument states that God would guard the gathering of the books into the canon because he had originally written each book. The argument is based on the following premise. (1) God had a message he wanted to reveal to man. (2) God chose a multiple number of authors who would write the message for others to understand. (3) God knew that his revelation would be attacked from without. (4) God knew that the recipients of his revelation were not scholars but average people in average circumstances. (5) Therefore, God could be expected personally to guarantee the contents (revelation), the accuracy of the words (inspiration), and the compilation of the different messages from all his messengers into one coherent unit (canon). In this way the message would be transmitted to future generations (inerrancy) so there would be no corruption, alteration, deletion, and/or addition to the Word of God. ¹⁶

THE BIBLE IN TRANSLATION

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Early Translations of Scripture

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew (with some Aramaic) and the New Testament in Greek. The Old Testament was translated into Greek by Jewish scholars about 200 years before the birth of Jesus. This translation became known as the Septuagint, abbreviated as LXX. At times the LXX is a fairly literal translation, but at other times it substantially deviates from the Hebrew text. ¹⁸ Also prior to the writing of the New Testament, the Old Testament was translated into Aramaic, the primary language of Israel. At first these translations were done in the synagogue so the congregation could understand the Scripture when the Hebrew text was read aloud. The synagogue leader would verbally translate the Hebrew text into Aramaic, and eventually these translations were written down. The translations were known as Targums.

The entire Bible (Old and New Testaments) was translated into many languages early in church history. There were many Latin translations of Scripture, and these were used throughout the churches. In the late fourth century, Pope Damascus commissioned Jerome to create a standard Latin version for the church from the existing translations. The product was the Vulgate. It was quickly accepted and became the standard text throughout the church for the next 1,000 years. The Bible was also translated into Syriac beginning in the second century. A standard Syriac version, called the Peshitta, was completed in the fifth century. Translations were also done into Coptic, Georgian, Armenian, Gothic, and Ethiopic. The goal was to make Scripture accessible to Christians who did not know Hebrew and/or Greek.

The Bible Translated into English

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Original page from a KJV 1611 Bible.

Some parts of the Bible were translated into English in the seventh through tenth centuries. John Wycliffe began an ambitious translation project in the fourteenth century. He translated all four Gospels, maybe even the entire New Testament. His associates completed the translation of the rest of Scripture. This translation was based on the Latin Vulgate, not the Hebrew and Greek. It was so literal that it was difficult to understand at times. Wycliffe died of a stroke and shortly afterward was declared a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church. ¹⁹ The church declared anyone in possession of this translation a heretic as well.

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William Tyndale.

The sixteenth century saw a proliferation of translations into English. With the rediscovery of Hebrew and Greek in the European renaissance and the invention of the printing press, translating the Bible into the languages of the laity became a priority for men like William Tyndale (1494–1536). Tyndale completed his translation of the New Testament in 1526. Since the English Bible was forbidden in England, it was printed in Germany and smuggled into England. He continued the task by translating the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) and other Old Testament books while continually revising his New Testament translation. He was eventually put on trial and found guilty of heresy. He was executed by being strangled and burned at the stake. Tyndale’s translation is far superior to Wycliffe’s. His desire to see the common man understand the Bible is evident in his translation.

Many more versions were produced following Tyndale. The Coverdale Bible (1535) was the first complete Bible printed in English. This was essentially a revision of Tyndale’s translation. The first Bible published with the approval of the king of England was Matthew’s Bible (1537). ²⁰ The Great Bible (1539) was the first authorized translation and was the official Bible of England for about twenty years.

The Geneva Bible (first printed in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1560) was a significant achievement for Bible translation in English. This translation was completed by a group of scholars, not one man. The Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew text, unlike most of the translations before it. Also, many consider it the first study Bible, since it contained annotations, introductions to the books of the Bible, as well as maps and cross-references. Finally, it was the first English Bible translation to use both chapters and verse numbers. It quickly replaced the Great Bible in the churches.

The King James Version (1611), also known as the Authorized Version, was in part motivated by King James I of England’s lack of appreciation for the notes that accompanied the Geneva Bible. About fifty scholars were assembled, and translation began in 1607. The rules and principles they used to guide their translation were published as an eleven-page preface. ²¹ The translators argued that students of Scripture should study a variety of translations and look at the alternate translations provided in the margins of the KJV. ²² This translation was an excellent work of scholarship. Soon after publication it became the standard translation used in England. It was the dominant English translation used for over four centuries.

There has been a tradition of English translations that are revisions in the KJV tradition. The English Revised Version (ERV) completed the New Testament in 1881 and the Old Testament in 1885. The main advancements from the KJV to the ERV were: (1) the ERV updated words since the English language had changed significantly in the previous 250 years; and (2) many manuscripts older than the ones used by the KJV translators had been discovered, and these were used by the translators of the ERV. ²³ The ERV committee was composed of scholars in England and America. The American representatives had a significantly weaker influence on the committee and published their own revision of the KJV in 1901: the American Standard Version (ASV). The ASV was revised in 1952 in the form of the Revised Standard Version (RSV). ²⁴Modern Translations in English

Many translations have appeared on the American scene in recent years. The following is a summary of a selection of the more popular translations and their origin. Some of these translations are considered essentially literal, which is a translation philosophy that understands the relationship between the modern reader and the message of the text to be the same as that between the original reader and the message of the text. This philosophy emphasizes the importance of translating every word, using the same (or similar) grammatical structures as the original, preserving idioms, and maintaining consistency in translating words from the original languages. Other translations are in the functional or dynamic equivalence category,